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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27140677">Leather and Lace</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrwrites/pseuds/chrwrites'>chrwrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sprint Fics [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Biker Luka, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, LBSC Sprint Fic Challenge, Mamihlapinatapei, Mentioned Juleka Couffaine, Mutual Pining</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:03:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,464</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27140677</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrwrites/pseuds/chrwrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette forced herself not to read too much into the looks they shared whenever they were together, or in the way he so gently asked her to stay with him after practice. But the more she tried to not think about Luka, the more she felt his gaze on her, and the more she forced herself not to look at his tanned skin and his tattoos, the more she found herself doodling them distractedly on her class notes.</p><p>  <i>Written for the 14/10/20 LBSC Sprint Fic Challenge.</i></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sprint Fics [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981153</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>93</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>LBSCSprintFicChallenge</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Leather and Lace</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For this LBSC Sprint Fic Challenge I combined two prompts!<br/><a href="https://ladyfreya123.tumblr.com/post/629611306226515968/im-really-sorry-but-i-needed-more-biker-luka-in">LadyFreya's Biker Luka</a> (who I'm in love with) and <i>Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan, an indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego): The wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who desire to initiate something, but are both reluctant to start.</i><br/>Enjoy! :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first time Marinette saw Luka, he had arrived to pick Juleka up from school with his motorcycle. She thought he was cool as she watched him hand a black helmet to his sister, but she hadn’t seen his face since it was hidden under his own helmet. </p><p>It was the cool you think all older people are, especially when they wear a leather jacket and ride a black motorbike. The second time she saw him, he dropped Juleka off, and maybe, just maybe, Marinette wondered what his face looked like.</p><p>Then she met him, and that memory would have embarrassed her for a long time if he hadn’t been so relaxed and understanding. </p><p>He was sitting on his bed, legs crossed in a meditation pose and eyes closed, holding a black pick between his thumb and his index, and Marinette noticed that his nails were painted black. Wow.</p><p>She got lost studying his features, the blue tips of his hair falling on his eyes, his sharp jaw, the black buttons that decorated his ears, his ripped jeans… and when he opened his eyes, Marinette felt breathless and became the flustered mess she thought she had learned to control.</p><p>“Hi, Ma-Ma-Marinette” he said, and his soothing voice and his chuckle were what persuaded her into not to walking out of the cabin, he even played for her when he noticed that he had made her uncomfortable. </p><p>Later, she left his cabin with a pick in her hand and her heart beating faster.</p><p>She kept admiring him, whether it was at Kitty Section’s rehearsals or anytime she had the chance to, she watched the way his muscles tensed when he played, the veins in his hand when he moved it on the fretboard, the collarbones peeking out of his loose shirts… and all she could think of was how she wished she could spend more time with him, just looking at him would have been enough.</p><p>The first time Luka saw Marinette, her bluebell eyes were studying him when he opened his, and he immediately felt something. He couldn’t quite place it, but after that first meeting, he couldn’t get her out of his mind, and the tune he played for her kept him awake, demanding to be completed.</p><p>When she became Kitty Section’s official designer and started hanging out around him more, all he could do was look for her in the crowd of their small concerts, and catch her gaze as she looked back at him, maybe even wink at her when he felt confident, but that was rare. He kept looking at her, but from a safe distance.</p><p>One day Marinette was showing him a drawing and instead of looking at it he got lost in the way her lips moved, in the way her smile lit up her eyes, and how her pigtails moved when she turned to face him and ask for his opinion. Her breath hitched as soon as she realized how close they were, and she stood frozen, the words dying in her mouth. She could feel his minty breath on her face, but then he stepped back, and cleared his throat.</p><p>Marinette’s cheeks were burning and she prayed that he didn’t notice that she was trying to recompose herself. She went on talking as if nothing happened and she wasn’t feeling her heart pound in her chest, “Do you think this would do?”, she said, feeling her throat dry. Luka just nodded, but when she was about to leave that evening, he asked her to stay.</p><p>Now every time she saw him drop Juleka off at school, Luka raised the visor that protected his face and waved at her quickly. Sometimes, she wished she could be in Juleka’s place and tighten her hands around his chest as he rode through the city, but her daydreams were broken when her friends demanded her attention.</p><p>Who would have wanted to date a girl in her last year of <em>lycée</em> when they were already at university, anyway? There must have been plenty of other girls or boys wanting him, and Marinette wouldn’t have been surprised to know that Luka was eyeing someone already.</p><p>She could only sigh and hug her pillow wishing it was him instead, how silly. </p><p>She kept looking at him from afar, wishing for something more but never taking a step forward, because she wasn’t ready to be rejected again.</p><p>Marinette forced herself not to read too much into the looks they shared whenever they were together, or in the way he so gently asked her to stay with him after practice. But the more she tried to not think about Luka, the more she felt his gaze on her, and the more she forced herself not to look at his tanned skin and his tattoos, the more she found herself doodling them distractedly on her class notes.</p><p>It was hopeless, and she couldn’t do anything about it.</p><p>She was thinking about him while she walked home when the sound of an engine stopping right next to her interrupted her stream of thoughts. The black motorbike was as familiar as the voice that called her, “Do you want a ride?”, Luka asked.</p><p>Marinette felt her throat go dry, and when he handed her the helmet and their hands touched, she shivered.</p><p>She didn’t feel her hands reaching for the strap and fasten it and she didn’t feel anything until he helped her sit on the bike and told her to hold on to him, which was something she would have gladly done. She tightened her hands on Luka’s chest as he sped up on the street, she could feel his muscles even above the layer of leather that protected him, and she inhaled his musky scent, letting out a happy sigh as she rested her head on his back.</p><p>When the motorcycle slowed down at the sight of her house, Marinette straightened up, loosened her hold on him and got off the motorbike when he stopped. </p><p>Of course she had to trip on her feet in the process.</p><p>Luka tried to reach her and held out one of his hands, but thankfully she didn’t fall, and he kept himself from laughing. Marinette blushed and took a moment to recompose herself before taking off the helmet and handing it back to him. When she did, her hair was going in different directions. It was messy, but to Luka’s eyes, she was beautiful.</p><p>“I like your helmet hair”, he said, stepping off his bike and putting her helmet under the motorcycle’s seat. Marinette let out a feeble thank you and put some of her hair behind her ear in an attempt to fix them, looking down. </p><p>The sun was setting low, and when Marinette raised her head to look at him he was standing next to his motorbike, waiting for her. She leaned to him and raised his visor, just to look at him one more time. But that wasn’t enough, so she reached for his helmet strap to unfasten it and take it off. Marinette had to get on her tiptoes to do so, and Luka leaned down to make the operation easier. </p><p>He was smiling sweetly when she finally freed his head from the helmet and put it on the motorbike’s seat, and turned to face him. His messy hair reflected the warm light of the sunset, and his eyes were a darker shade of blue than the one she was used to seeing, as deep as the ocean.</p><p>Maybe that’s what pushed her to dive deep, to take one step forward, look at him in the eyes and put her hands on his shoulders. Luka followed her movements, and raised his hand to cup her cheek, his thumb resting on her chin. His eyes met hers, and she felt weak under his touch, his warm calloused fingertips contrasting with the cold leather that covered the rest of his hand. And just as she leaned to him and closed her eyes, the doorbell of the bakery behind them rang, signaling the exit of a customer. Marinette jerked back from his hold, suddenly feeling cold and more aware of her surroundings.</p><p>Luka shook himself and sighed, letting his hand drop on his side. He took his helmet and climbed back on his motorcycle, putting it back on. </p><p>Marinette’s feet weren’t moving, and she was looking at him with a dumbfounded expression.</p><p>“See you soon, Marinette”, he said slowly, and the smile he gave her before lowering his visor was bittersweet. She raised her hand to wave at him, but the words weren’t coming out her mouth.</p><p>
<em>Stay, please.</em>
</p><p>She sighed, cursing herself as she watched his figure disappear around a corner, her heart still pounding in her chest.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I really hope that the countless times I listened to I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys when I thought about this work or I sprinted set the mood I was aiming for 😂<br/>Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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